Reviews

• “Arne Dahl has been a guarantor of suspense for many years, and once again he proves himself with The Seven Wonders: the style has a Nordic coolness to it, free of pathos, thoroughly researched and skillfully constructed.”

• “A complex crime novel with many surprising twists that combines the art scene, drug cartels, and the harsh reality of police work.”

• “A crime thriller of the highest class.”

• “[The Seven Wonders is] the best crime novel coming out of Sweden, from an author who once again displays great imagination and empathy, whose books can always be found on the bestseller lists ­– and rightly so.”

• “Very thrilling, entertaining, and topical from beginning to end. Tempus fugit – [The Seven Wonders] flies by.”

• “It’s absurd and quite bloody, but as always Arne Dahl keeps his reader captured in an entertaining, educational, and well-written story.”

• “One is rarely disappointed with Arne Dahl and when he set off a new series with Within the Circle in 2023 it was an opening to write home about. /…/ There’s no doubt that The Seven Wonders is a sequel; the police we got to know are back and the sweaty cliffhanger hangs on, so to speak. But despite this being a series, you never know which route [Arne Dahl] is going to take. /…/ It is a skillful build-up of suspense where art is given space, language is treated with care, and the settings are never neglected. Best of all though: the police team. (…) Arne Dahl’s new ensemble is one you’ll be eager to meet again soon.”

• “Dahl keeps his investigators (as well as his readers) in the dark for a long time; every clue seems like a promising lead, only to prove a dead end moments later. /…/ The resolution is, true to form for Dahl, nothing short of astonishing.”

• “Arne Dahl in top form. I feel it at once when I throw myself into his latest The Seven Wonders. /…/ It may feel a bit scattered to follow [everyone in the Nova team]’s whims and an investigation with so many murder scenes and victims, but Arne Dahl guides the reader through it all with a very steady hand, mixing, as usual, darkness with liberating humor and his writing is so sharp that certain turns of phrase is a joy in themselves. As a crime reader with high demands, you’re very happy with The Seven Wonders and the Nova team’s many strong characters. Dahl always demands something in return and makes you think, associate, and feel disturbed by the state of the world, all at once.”

• “A spine-chilling, exceptionally well-written thriller where multiple promising leads turn out to be dead ends before the grand finale finally hits. A slam dunk!”

• “With The Seven Wonders, [Arne Dahl] shows his great skill at building suspense. /…/ Arne Dahl builds and weaves an intricate and suspenseful plot. /…/ Plot threads run in several different directions in this clever and elegantly composed thriller. /…/ The Seven Wonders is a crime novel with fast pace, short chapters, quick cuts between different scenes, and a writing style that beats most everyone in the genre. Additionally, Arne Dahl adds both humor and clever references. /…/ The suspense remains high in this thriller where leads are laid out across time and space, woven together, and eventually they form a whole in which everything is connected and explained. It is skillfully and cleverly constructed, with slick twists and plenty of surprises. You get the sense that [Dahl] had lots of fun crafting the complex plot – a puzzle full of well-chiseled details and clues. On top of that, he has created a cast of characters that sparks both interest and curiosity (…). Arne Dahl is in high form when he lets the Seven Wonders of the World take place in a thriller context. It is thrilling, brutal – and entertaining.”

• “A wonderfully impressive text! /…/ [Arne Dahl] dives pretty deep into the art world (…) which makes for a really interesting read. /…/ It is an intelligently built intrigue where we are constantly fed with new pieces of the puzzle, a collective novel where we move between strong characters who we get to know well, even unexpected supporting characters are handled with great care (…) as the previous installment, [The Seven Wonders] contains social criticism that is everything but poster-like, we are handed resolutions where a central part is sculpted to be an international blockbuster. And naturally we get to enjoy a fantastic prose, concentrated and without unnecessary flourishes. I often prioritize debutants but sometimes it is wonderful to read established stars who still carry a strong joy of writing, filled with creativity and fantasy.”

• “Arne Dahl takes an eerily artistic grip on Stockholm with murders connected to the Seven Wonders of the World.”

• “[A] page-turner infused with creeping suspense.”

• “If possible, this sequel is even better than its predecessor. It is a tight but very complex narrative that makes the story incredibly suspenseful, not to mention the cliffhanger at the end. [The Seven Wonders] moves seamlessly between the art world’s ideas and galleries and the fentanyl devastation caused by drug gangs. /…/ [The Seven Wonders] is suspenseful, intense, and very well executed. /…/ [Arne Dahl] is often described as the best crime author in Sweden today. It’s not difficult to agree.”